Sanitary drinking-fountain.



P. MUELLER & A. C. SCHUBRMANN.

SANITARY DRINKING FOUNTAIN. APPLICATION FILED amnza, m1.

Patented Mar. 19, 1912.

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' A; valve or regu Battling means UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PHILIP MUELLER AND ANTON C. SCHUERMANN, OF DECATUR, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORS TO THE H. MUELLER MANUFACTURING IPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

COMPANY, OF DECATUR, ILLINOIS, A COR- SANITARY DRINKING-FOUNTAIN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 19, 1912.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, PHILIP MUELLER and Aaron C. SCHUERMANN, citizens of the United States, residing at Decatur, in the county of Macon'and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Sanitary Drinking-Fountains, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to drinking fountains and has for its main object to provide a nozzle therefor that shall be thoroughly sanitary in all respects, and so constructed that a person drinking therefrom cannot, without having his face and nose filled with water, contaminate the nozzle by placing his lips or any part of his face, in contact there-.

with.

This invention, therefore, has for its primary and, fundamental principle, a drinking fountain discharging a bubbling or upwardly flowing stream of water for drinking purposes, and a number of small upwardly projected streams of water which, together, form a protecting-wall or curtain surrounding the nozzle and the lower portion of the drinking stream, said protecting streams not rising as high as the drinking stream, so that a person may drink from the top of the latter stream without being interfered with by the protecting streams.

Secondary objects of the invention relate to the manner of directing the water delivered to the nozzle from a common sup-- ply pipe through independent passageways, one leading to the drinking nozzle, and the other to the outlets for the small streams,

which form the rotecting wall or curtain. ating means is placed in each of said passageways to regulate the pressure and speed of the water and the height to which it rises above the outlets. are also employed to impede the water as it travels toward the outlets.

In the drawing, which accompanies and forms a part of this specification, Fi ure 1 is a vertical central sectional view of the improved drinking fountain, Fig. 2 is a top plan View of'the same, Fig. 3 a bottom plan view, Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view, and Fig. 5 a bottom view ofa detail of the invention.

Similar reference numerals are used to Indicate the same parts in all the figures.

In the drawing, the numeral 1 designates ing 6, the passage 8 extendin the body of the fountain nozzle, preferably cylindrical in form, from the lower end of which radiate a plurality of hollow fingers 2, the number of which is immaterial, having holes 3 near their outer ends communieating with the interior of said fingers and directed upwardly. The holes 3 may be disposed in a vertical direction as shown, or inclined toward or away from the axis of the nozzle. The body of the nozzle is made hollowand threaded interiorly at its lower end to receive a threaded bushing 4, which extends upwardly into said hollow body for some distance above the channels 5 in the fingers 2, which channels communicate with the interior of the nozzle body.

A threaded openin 6 is formed in the lower end of the bushing L fer a short distance to screw on the end of the pipe or other fitting through which water is de livered to the nozzle. Passageways 8 and 9 are bored in the bushing 4 from the openbut a short distance into said bushing, w ile the passageway 9 passes through the same and communicates with the bottom of a recess 9* in the upper end of said bushing. An opening 10 is made in the center of the body 1 downwardly from the recess 9' nearly to the threaded opening 6, said opening 10 connecting with the passage 8. by a port 11.

The upper end of the opening 10 is preferably enlarged and threaded to receive a threaded stem 12 on a plug 13, which plug nearly fills the recess 9 1n the bushing. The underside of the plug-13 is cut away or depressed at 14, around the stem 12 leaving a skirt 15 at the periphery of the plug reaching nearly to the bottom of the recess 9.

The top of the nozzle body 1 is shouldered at 16 to form a neck 17 centrally bored to permit the entrance thereinto of a nipple 19, the lower end of which is exteriorly threaded for a nut 20 which, in turn, is also exteriorly threaded to screw into a cavity 21 formed in the upper end of the plug 13.

The nut 20 holds thenipple in position on the neck 17. An axial opening 22 is formed in the nipple for the passage of the drinking stream of water, said-opening may be rovided with vertical grooves 22% .to produce a bubbling eii'ect on the drinking stream.

The underside of the nut 20 is hollowed preferably in the form of a hemisphere into which projects a dome-shaped bafiling manber 23 having a circular flange 24: at itsbase and provided with a number of notches 25 cut therein to permit the passage of water. The bafliing member 23 is depressed on its underside as shown in the drawing 'to' im-- pede and deflect the stream of water passing upwardly through a passageway 26 in the stem 12 of the plug.

For the purpose of regulating the flow of water to the outlet-s and the height of the drinking stream and of. the streams which.

form the wallor curtain aroundthe nozzle, a valve or other interfering means 27 is placed in the passageway 8, and a like device 28 in the passageway 9. These valves or interfering means arepreferably in the form of headless screws having conical points which seat in depressions on the opposite, sides of the respective channel ways Sand 9, the screw valve 27 is for convenienceplaced in line with the port 11 so as to enter the same and limit the amount of water which canepass therethrough to the nipple.

The screw valves 27 and 28 are threaded horizontally inopenings-on opposite sides of the bushing 4V and have theiriouter ends notched to receive a screw-driver, or other means for adjusting the screws.

To prevent mischievous ormalicious i n terference with the screw valves 27 and 28,

a collar or shield 29 is threaded on the' lower end of thebushing and extends 'up the sidesthereofsufficiently high to cover the outerends of said screw valves. By this means 'mischievously inclined people cannot tamper with the valves, but when an authorized person desires to adjust them he will .be able to do so by unlocking or removing said shield. I I

In assembling, the various parts of the invention the stem 12 of the plug 13 is screwed into the opening 10 in the bushing 4 until the lower end of theskirt 15 of said-bushing nearly reaches the bottom of the recess 9, there being a narrow space between the skirt and the side of said recess.

21 in the top of the plug, and the, nut 20 screwed into said orifice until its lower end sageway 8, and part through the passageway 9 past the valves 27 and 28 in said passageways. From the passagewayfi water The baffling member is then inserted in the orifice.

passes through the port 11 into'the opening 10 and bore 26 to strike against the under side of the battling member, which decreases opening 22 in'the'nozzle to form the drinking stream. From the passageway 9 water passes into the depression 14 in the under side oftheplug l3, striking the top: of said depression thence deflecting downwardly andvaround the skirt 15 and up between said skirt and the wall of the cavity 9. Passing overthis wall it descends through the narrow annular spacebetween the bushing and the body 1 to the channels 5 in the fingers 2, and, passing out through the openings 3,

it is projected upwardly as shown in Fig. 1

to form the protecting wall or curtain around the nipple'19. It will be noted from the above that the course of the water is w 'more or less tortuous, striking the baffling members, turning corners, and in other ways having its pressure reduced so that when it emerges into the air it rises to the height desired in solid masses and with little form so that especially with respect to the drinkin}; stream, there is no danger of the'water splashing into the drinkers face-when he places his mouth over the stream to drink. But should he heedlessly or intentionally attempt to place his lips on the nipple 19 one ormore of the streams forming the protecting wall will fill his face and nose with water, thereby naturally. causing a quick withdrawal before his lips have touched the nipple.

Having I claim is 1. A drinking fountain comprising a nozzle having a hollow body with a plurality of radial tubular fingers, an upwardly directed openingin each finger at itsouter end, a nipple having an outlet for a drinking stream extending downwardly through an opening in the upper end of said body, a

bushing extending upwardly into said body and connected thereto, said bushing having passageways therein for water, and means connecting said bushing and nipple through which means water passes from one of sald passageways to the outlet in the nipple, and from the other passageway around said connecting means to the tubular fingers. where it flows through their terminal open-.

ings in streams above said nipple to form a curtain for the same.

2; A drinking fountain comprising a 1151 low nozzle, having a hollow body with .a plurality of radial tubular fingers, an upwardly directed o ning in eachfinger at its outer end, a nipple having an opening for a drinking'stream' extending upwardly through an opening in the upper end of said body, a bushing extending upwardly into fully described my invention what sageway being said body and connected thereto, said bushmeans connecting said bushing and nipple through which means water passes fromone of-said assageways to the outlet in the nipple, and from the other passageway around said means to the tubular fingers, and out through their-terminal openings, each pasrovided with' a separate means for regu ating the flow of water therethrough. a

3. A drinking fountain comprising-a hollow nozzle, having a hollow body with a plurality of radial tubular fingers-,'=-an upwardly directed opening in each finger at its outer end, a nipple having an outlet for a drinking stream of water extending downwardly through an opening in the upper end regulating between said "ings in streams above said nipple of said body, said out-let being above the plane of the terminal openings in the fingers, a bushing extending upwardly into said body and connected thereto, said bushing having passageways therein for water,- and means connecting said bushing and nipple through which means water passes from one of saidpassageways to the outlet in the nipple and from the other passageway around said means to the tubular fingers where it flows'through their terminal opento form a curtain surrounding the same, adjustable means in,each of said passagemeans for deflecting the streams passageways and their outlets. 4. A drinking fountain comprising a nozzle having hollow body with a plurality of radial tubular fingers, an. upwardly directed opening in each finger at its outer end, a

ways, and

. nipple having an outlet for a drinking stream extending downwardly through an opening in the upper end of'said body, a bushing extendin beyond the tubu ar fingers and connected thereto, said bushing having a recess in its upper end upper and connected to said bushing, said plug'nearly filling the recess in, the bushing, and having a recess in its under side, a stem plug and having an opening connecting the cavity therein with one of the passageways in the bushing, and a' threaded connection betweensaid plug and said nipple, the arrangement being such that water entering through one of said passageways passes through the plug copies of this patent maybe obtained for plu upwardly into said body and passageways therein for water, a plug formed with a cavity in its to the drinking fountain and through the other passageway around said plug to the hollow fingers and their terminal openings.

A drinking fountain comprising a nozzle having a hollow body with a plurality of radial tubular fingers, an upwardly directed opening ineach finger at its outer end, a nipple having an outlet for a drinking stream of water extending downwardly through an opening in the upper end of said body, said outlet bein on a higher plane than the openings in Ere tubular fingers, a bushingextending upwardly into the body beyond the tubular fingers and threaded into said body, said bushing having a recess in its upper end, a plug formed with a cavity in its upper end and of slightly less diameter than said recess inserted therein, a stem extending downwardly from said lug and threaded into an opening in the bus ing, the underside of the plug bein formed with an annular chamber'opening ownwardly near the bottom of the recess in the bushing, a nut threaded in the cavity in said plug and having a centrally threaded opening for the threaded lower end of the nipple, a hollow bafiling member seated in-the cavity in the and held in place by said nut, said ba ing member having slots in the edges thereof, a passageway in the nozzle for conveying water the nipple to form the drinking stream, a second passageway separate from the first through which water passes to the tubular fingers, and means in each passa eway for regulating the flow of water theret rougln 6. A drinking fountain comprising a body, a nozzle connected to the body and from which a drinking stream is adapted to flow in an upward direction,

arm having ail-opening on its upper side for the outflow of a protecting stream of water, I

which'streams surround the drinking stream, means for regulating the flow of the drinking stream, and separate means for regulating the flow of the protecting streams.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto a plurality of hollow arms projectingfrom said body, each set our hands in presence .of two subscribing 3G5 witnesses.

PHILIP MUELLER. ANTON o. SCHUERMANN.

Witnesses:

LEONARD F. MoKmnnN,

Wnmiam R. Bnmnn.

Washington, I) (3." 

